Verse 5 of Kantharalangkaaram: Infant-Lord at the Saravana Pool
Reverting to verse 5 of the Kantharalangkaaram, the rest of its contents say that the Infant-Lord suckled the breasts of his divine mother, Goddess Umaathevi [the beloved spouse of Lord Sivaperumaan], and climbed on to the lotus-flower-like-cradle on the Saravana-pool to suckle the breasts of his foster-mothers, born of the kaarththikai-asterisms. As the Infant-Lord sobbed for more milk, the sea, the krauňca-hill and the demon Suurapanman began to cry — apparently because Suurapanman and the other demons, who were hiding in the sea and the krauňca-hill, had the premonition of their impending destruction by the lance in the sacred hand of the Infant-Lord.
Post-Sangam Mythological Legends
The foregoing information (as contained in verse 5 of the Kantharalangkaaram) is not to be found in the early Sangam poetry and it would therefore seem to belong to the post-Sangam mythological legends, depicting Lord Murukan as the beloved son of Lord Sivaperumaan and his spouse Goddess Umaathevi. The evolution of such legends may be attributed to the earnest efforts made by Hindu sages and poets to harmonize the various Hindu cults — such as that of Lord Vinaayakarperumaan, Lord Murukapperumaan, Lord Sivaperumaan, Mother Goddess, and Lord Thirumaal — which have flourished among the inhabitants of the Indian subcontinent since time immemorial. Each of those cults has been upholding the concept of the ONENESS OF GOD, and the use of different names does not signify multiplicity of divinity. The various cults were harmonized in terms of relationship between members of a family, such as father, mother, children, uncle and nephew.
Sanskrit Epic Sources
As regards the mythological legends concerning Lord Murukan being the son of Lord Sivaperumaan and Goddess Umaathevi, they are to be found in the Sanskrit epics, the Mahaabhaarata (III: 223–232; IX, Chapters 46–47; XIII, Chapters 84–86), and the Raamaayana (Book One: Baala-kaanda, Chapters 36 and 37), as well as in Kaalidaasa's Kumaarasambhava, in conjunction with the legends of the young war-god Kumaara, or Skanda, his exploits as a youth and conquests over the demons [Clothey 1978: 51–61].
The Tamil Anthology Paripaatal
The Tamil anthology entitled Paripaatal [especially the songs 5, 8–9, 14, 17–19 and 21], and the idyll of Thirumurukaarruppatai, belonging to the late Sangam-era, include more particulars of the legends concerning Lord Murukan, which would seem to have developed following the dissemination of the legends of Kumaara, or Skanda, from the Sanskrit tradition of northern India.
The Kantha-Puraanam: Birth of the Infant-Lord
Srii Kacciyappa Sivaacaariyar's Kantha-Puraanam [ஸ்ரீ கச்சியப்ப சிவாசாரியார் அருளிய கந்தபுராணம்] in Tamil, believed to have been based on the earlier Skanda-Puraana in Sanskrit, contains more information on the legends depicting Lord Murukan as the beloved son of Lord Sivaperumaan and Goddess Umaathevi. These legends are deemed to "reflect a modification of the earlier epic accounts" [Clothey 1978: 82].
Thus, according to the Kantha-Puraanam in Tamil, consequent upon the arrogant mistreatment of the gods by the demon Suurapanman and his two brothers Singkamukan and Thaarakan, a fervent appeal for help is made by the celestials to Lord Sivaperumaan, who graciously emanates six sparks of fire permeating the ethereal region. They are carried by wind, fire, and the river Gangaa, and deposited on a lotus flower in a pool surrounded by sara-thickets [hence known as the saravana-pool] on the mountain. From the six sparks appears the Infant-Lord Murukan with six faces of compassion and twelve arms for the redemption of the world:
அருவமும் உருவு மாகி அநாதியாய்ப் பலவாய் ஒன்றாய்ப்
பிரமமாய் நின்ற சோதிப் பிழம்பதோர் மேனி யாகக்
கருணைகூர் முகங்கள் ஆறுங் கரங்கள்பன் னிரண்டும் கொண்டே
ஒருதிரு முருகன் வந்தாங்கு உதித்தனன் உலகம் உய்ய.
[கந்தபுராணம், உற்பத்திக் காண்டம், (11). திருவவதாரப் படலம், 942]
Then, upon the request of the celestials led by Thirumaal, the women of the kaarththikai [krittika]-asterisms came to the saravana-pool to nurse the child. The child splits into six forms in order to suckle the breasts of the foster-mothers:
மறுவறும் ஆரல் ஆகும் மாதர்மூ விருவர் தாமும்
நிறைதரு சரவ ணத்தின் நிமலனை அடைந்து போற்ற
உறுநர்கள் தமக்கு வேண்டிற்று உதவுவோன் ஆதலாலே
அறுமுக ஒருவன் வேறாய் அறுசிறார் உருவம் கொண்டான்.
[கந்தபுராணம், உற்பத்திக் காண்டம், (11). திருவவதாரப் படலம், 966]
When Lord Sivaperumaan and Goddess Umaathevi visit the saravana-pool, the Lord asks the Goddess to bring her infant to him. She goes to the pool and hugs the infant's six forms together, and they become a single form of Lord Kanthan with Six Faces and twelve arms:
அந்த வேளையில் கவுரியை நோக்கிஎம் ஐயன்
இந்த நின்மகன் றனைக் கொடு வருகென இயம்ப
............
சரவ ணந்தனில் தனதுசேய் ஆறுருத் தனையும்
இருக ரங்களால் அன்புடன் எடுத்தனள் புல்லித்
திருமு கங்களோர் ஆறுபன் னிருபுயம் சேர்ந்த
உருவம் ஒன்றெனச் செய்தனள் உலகமீன் றுடையாள்
.........
அந்தம் இல்லதோர் மூவிரு வடிவமொன் றாகிக்
கந்தன் என்றுபேர் பெற்றனன் கவுரிதன் குமரன்.
[கந்தபுராணம், உற்பத்திக் காண்டம், (13). சரவணப் படலம், 1033–1035]
The Names Kaarththikeyan and Kanthan
The Kantha-Puraanam mentions also that Lord Sivaperumaan makes it known to the kaarththikai-women that since they reared the child with their breast-milk, the Infant-Lord will be known by the sacred appellation of KAARTHTHIKEYAN, and that the devotees who worship the sacred feet of the Lord on the auspicious day of Kaarththikai-asterism will attain mukthi, or salvation (கந்தபுராணம், 1044). Simultaneously, Goddess Umaathevi hugged the Infant-Lord and fed him with her breast-milk (கந்தபுராணம், 1045).